Friday, October 25th, 2013

Writing Prompt – ‘Zero’ Procrastination

zero-e
Halloween is coming! It’s my favorite holiday of the entire year.

My candy’s bought, my house is decorated, and I’m chomping at the bit looking for activities to extend it a little. Tonight, the Husband of Awesome™ and I will be handing out candy at the local elementary school and watching their costume parade. I can’t wait.

I’m working on a prop for tonight: Zero, Jack Skellington’s faithful ghost hound. I sculpted his head from newspaper, tinfoil, masking tape and styrofoam. Today, I’m spray-painting him white.

I should have covered him in paper mache before painting, but I ran out of time. I’ve been procrastinating.

Ahem.

I’ve also been procrastinating on my writing. I haven’t even turned on my laptop for THREE days!

My word count is not looking too hot this week, unless you count all the non-fiction… (And who counts that?) The ‘Zero’ project–and other Halloween stuff–has kept me pretty busy.

Here’s Your Prompt:

  • The main character of your WIP has a secret vice that makes him procrastinate. What is it? How might this procrastination up the tension in your story? Write it.
     
  • Essayists: Thomas de Quincey said, “If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination.” Is procrastination worse than murder?
     
  • Procrastination eats away at our time, slowly eroding this valuable commodity. Poets: write about time.   (Artists! This one works for you, too: show us time.)
     
  • For journalers and essayists: What have you been putting off? Why?
     

Good luck!

 

Cover of Selk Skin Deep by Kelly A. Harmon depicts a Navy Aircraft Carrier on a moonlit night.

Have you read Selk Skin Deep?

JFK never envisioned a Navy SEAL like him: a selkie, ignorant of the ways of man, learns what it’s like to be human.

Electronic:
$2.99 at Amazon$2.99 at Barnes and Noble

Paperback: $4.99 at Amazon.com

Monday, June 25th, 2012

Story Available, Award Winner, and The 3Six5

Cover of On the Path featuring a pagoda on a mountanside.I’m just full of newsy bits of newsy-news this afternoon, it seems.

On the Path available at Smashwords!

On the Path is finally available at Smashwords in multiple formats.

It was first published in the Parsec Ink Anthology, Triangulation: Dark Glass. It’s full of neat things like soul-powered plows which blow up, and Chinese ancestor-ghosts who come back to haunt their children and take over bodies of the living. Fun for everyone!

It’s priced at 99 cents for now, but will likely increase later this year. Here’s the link to On the Path at Smashwords.

 

The Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal is an Award Winner

Cover of the Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal

The Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal (Dragon Moon Press) won a Book of the Year Gold Award in the Writing Category at The Foreward Reviews.

From the Web site: “ForeWord Reviews’ Book of the Year Awards were established to bring increased attention to librarians and booksellers of the literary and graphic achievements of independent publishers and their authors. ForeWord is the only review trade journal devoted exclusively to books from independent houses.”

Neat!

I have a chapter in the book on joining (or starting) a critique group, along with a short essay on how to critique.

 

You Should Be Reading The 3Six5 Blog

There’s a fascinating blog called The 3Six5. Each day is written by a different writer and is a slice of their life of what happened on a particular day. Each entry is 365 words or less and includes a picture of what happened on that day.

The writers come from all over the world, and every day is so different than the last.

Today was my day: I talked a bit about my job at the National Agricultural Library and how (strangely) Jack FM played Christmas Carols all day today. You wouldn’t think the two would join for a decent essay, but come together they do.

Read it (and others!) on The 3Six5.